Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[jazzcj]

So sorry to hear what you are going through Tinkerbell.  I agree that it would be a good  idea to stick with an antidepressant for a while.  The nausea and side effects will go and you should start feeling human again.  I have fibromyalgia, ME, endometriosis, fibroids, my Dad had Dementia and died in 2009 and my Mum died 3 years later, all while I have been bringing up my now nearly 12 year old.  I'm not sure I would have survived without an antidepressant.  Please give it a go and hopefully it will help you cope.  It sounds like you have had and are likely to continue to have a lot on your plate and it just might help and possibly some cognitive behavioural therapy.  That also really helped me.  Best wishes Jan xxx

[jedigirl]

Hey Tinkerbell,

 Sorry to hear you're having such a rough time. Hope you have a more positive appointment tomorrow. You deserve to be able to enjoy your little ones and have suffered long enough. Big hugs xxx

[Tinkerbellj]

Omg I have no words I am so fustrated. Saw consultant today totally dismissed pnd and said u dont treat it with hormones anyway sorry but wtf. Basically I have to stop all hrt wait til I have a period then have my profile taken again and she will see me beginning of april. I cant see me making it to the end of the day let alone april. She said it could be a case of not tolerating any hormones even thou I did say the gel worked well . She said I should be more  realisitic about what I can do at my age . Im 47! Also perimenopause is very difficult to treat as its not a case of no  hormones but they r fluctuating a lot. So what we just dont bother to try cuz thats what it feels like.  Thats why I wanted the gel so I could alter it myself. I told her about what I had read re prof studd and she dismissed it immediately.  She made me feel like I was just a pain cuz I didnt confirm to the norm she even commented on how much was in my file from nov! So deflated what do I  do now?

[CLKD]

Go back to your GP!  Ask to see a menopause specialist or send an e-mail to Dr Currie.

[CLKD]

Also, read the Links that I posted on page 3 and contact the various PND support groups!

[Clovie]

Oh I'm so sorry for you, and angry too!!!   

March straight back to your GP and demand to be referred elsewhere - be it another specialist in his place, or menopause clinic - or both!!!!! 
It is your right to do this. I'd be livid.

Not the same but similar, my first GP told me after the second lot of synthetic prog wasn't suiting (to say the least!)  that perhaps HRT just  'wasn't for me'    I demanded to be ref'd elsewhere (in tears mind you!  ) and that's when I got utrogestan.

Keep up the momentum - and hang in there. Hugs x

[GypsyRoseLee]

I am appalled on your behalf. I had a similar, soul destroying appointment before Xmas with a similar sounding doctor.

She tried to push me into having the Mirena again, even though it sent me round the bend last time. Then tried to get me to take Elleste Duet which contains Norethisterone, which is notorious for causing the very anxiety and mood swings I was so desperate to 'cure'. She also mocked me 'for reading too much' about menopause.

I genuinely hated her. And I very much hope, in years to come, that she ends up suffering how I am suffering now.

But, please don't lose hope. There are other consultants. Don't forget, not all gynaecologists specialise in hormones and the menopause. I cannot believe your doctor dismissed Prof Studd when he is probably the leading world expert on this. Probably professional envy.

Are you able to pay to see a proper specialist such as Annie Evans, Nick Panay or even Studd? I see Annie Evans in a month, and if she can help it will be worth every penny.

Perimenopause has stolen my life away these last 2 years and it's been nearly unbearable at times.

[SadLynda]

sorry you had such a rotten visit.  Reminds me of when I turned 40 and saw a specialist for arthritis in my knee, and was told to go home and spend more time in my armchair, what did I expect at my age

Good advice above, and also (my usual song) if you have no joy with GP change to a new one.  I had 3.5years of being treated badly by GP's, and the DH is going through it now too.  Remember you do not deserve to feel this bad, you deserve better.

[Hurdity]

Omg I have no words I am so fustrated. Saw consultant today totally dismissed pnd and said u dont treat it with hormones anyway sorry but wtf. Basically I have to stop all hrt wait til I have a period then have my profile taken again and she will see me beginning of april. I cant see me making it to the end of the day let alone april. She said it could be a case of not tolerating any hormones even thou I did say the gel worked well . She said I should be more  realisitic about what I can do at my age . Im 47! Also perimenopause is very difficult to treat as its not a case of no  hormones but they r fluctuating a lot. So what we just dont bother to try cuz thats what it feels like.  Thats why I wanted the gel so I could alter it myself. I told her about what I had read re prof studd and she dismissed it immediately.  She made me feel like I was just a pain cuz I didnt confirm to the norm she even commented on how much was in my file from nov! So deflated what do I  do now?

Oh poor you! Was this a gynaecologist? How dare these people treat emotionally vulnerable women ( which is what menopausal women are) in this unsympathetic manner.

I know there is some controversy about Studd's views on the hormonal treatment for reproductive depression amongst psychiatrists - and that is definitely due to professional protection of their field - but surely knowledgeable specialists must understand how much of women's emotional state is caused by hormonal changes, and any cyclical symptoms obviously are!

As for the age thing - words fail me. 47?!!!!  . Heavens you are so young - many women expect to live to 90 and beyond - what does she think you're going to do - sit in a chair and cry for 40 + years?

I would go back to your GP and ask for another referral - hopefully to a menopause clinic if this wasn't?

So sorry to hear about your treatment. She is right that peri-menopause is difficult to treat but that doesn't mean that she/you should give up.....

Hope you manage to do something about this but in the meantime have a 

Hurdity x

[Tinkerbellj]

Thanks again ladies for your excellent support as usual. This was a so called menopause specialist at the hrt clinic.  Honestly the thoufht of taking nothing makea me feel ill. I tried explaining things but just couldn't grt her to inderstand. I think I will go to my gp and ask for the gel myself. What I  don't get  is on one hand she said fsh levels dont prove anything and on the other its detox your body from all the hrt hornones and we will take bloods oh and wait to see if your periods come back. My periods have been and until I started hrt completely regular. She said the amount of hormone I was getting from the patch was very small and not enough to cause the things I am describing like nausea bloating etc yet it has been enough to stop the sweats. I swear , am tempted to go on the pill or just stick two or three patches on at once and see what happens. Have to get my day 3 hormone profile done when my.period arrives . I have taken my patch off but honestly my joint pains r terrible and I have cried all day. I feel like a victim and I hate that and she made me feel like I don't kbjw my m own body. I wonder if I had seen her privately would it have been different?? I also mentioned libido and her reply was u have two small children and u r 47 what do u expect. Its normal to just be too tired! .I honestly think I  will look for another specialist. April is a long time away.

[babyjane]

from what you have said this doctor sounds unprofessional to me, at the very least unhelpful nd rather uncaring and I am so very sorry you are feeling like this. Please believe there are some good doctors out there, I sincerely hope that you can find one as it is the very least you deserve.  I know that doesn't help you now but hopefully things will improve for you soon.

[Mary G]

Tinkerbell, that is the pits.  I would love to know what Professor Studd thinks about it but of course he is too professional to say.

My advice is don't waste any more of you valuable time.  It is your life and you are in control of it.  Why not take some advice from someone who actually knows what they are talking about.  I suggest Professor Studd, Dr. Annie Evans or Dr. Nick Panay.  It will cost you a few hundred quid but it could the best few hundred quid you ever spent.  I know it is not always easy to get hold of that sort of money but I think this is an emergency.

If it really is too difficult and you can't see a specialist and you own doctor is no help, buy the gel online yourself and try it out.  It can't be any more risky than consulting a doctor who doesn't know what they are doing.  I despair.

[Lizab]

Everyone's responses are incredibly polite. I'm sorry but the consultant sounds like a real bitch to me! She may have some sound reasoning for wanting to clear your system and run fresh tests. Who knows? No one knows because she obviously did a terrible job communicating with you! That is frustrating, but don't despair. I've found (in other issues in the past) that some doctors either don't understand me or I don't understand them. Whatever the case, the communication is broken and I end up feeling belittled and frustrated and that I'm wasting my time and I'll die before I find help.

As I said, there may be sound reasoning behind the consultant's course of action for you, but this consultant is not going to work for you. Personally, I would follow her recommendations while you are seeking another consult. That way, if the next consult suggests the same thing  but explains it better, you'll not lose any time waiting for the hrt to clear your system.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I have a great gp but kind of got caught up with a similar gynecologist before I got too frustrated it all. My gynecologist actually told me I needed to decide who would handle all my care (thyroid, perimenopause, annual exams, etc) her or my gp, that she wouldn't treat only my gyne issues. My gp has handled the rest of my body for years, doesn't belittle me, and I can get an appointment when I need it or a personal email response, and I don't have to chase him down for lab and scan results. You can imagine it was not a hard decision to not go back to her.
Find a good doctor. There are some out there.

[Keepgoing]

I am so sorry to hear that your gps are rubbish, honestly some of them need struck off. I have a couple of great gps at my surgery so I am blessed. If it's at all possible could you join another practice maybe get better gps in another one. I think if this was me I would put a complaint in higher up see what happens then. Good luck and don't give up try and think just one day at a time xxx

[Tinkerbellj]

This was the supposed head of gynae and hrt in  nortjern Ireland.  I even inquired about a private cons here and got her name as well. God help us all if that's as good as it gets